Tidbits of Information

This is a frequent statement that I hear from parents when they are concerned about their child’s speech production.  Some children have difficulty learning how to produce sounds correctly. The result can be speech that is unclear or hard to understand. 

The production of speech is a complicated motor task.  Children can’t learn to say sounds until they are old enough for muscle growth and fine motor ability to support the very intricate motor skill of sound production. 

Between one and three years of age, children use a variety of vowels and consonants for “sound play”—or—babbling.  They begin using and combining these sounds at about 2-3 months of age and continue to refine and develop these sounds until they begin to combine them to form meaningful words.  Those first words may not be perfect, but using them to communicate is amazing!    For example, your child may say “mi” or “milk”---to request “milk” or to request more milk.  Say-“Oh, you want more milk” and then your child has been provided with an accurate model and eventually, your child learns to “refine” and their production becomes more clear. 

The first sounds you will hear your child pronounce use the lips “p, b, m, h and n”—words like “ball” and “mom” will be produced more clearly earlier.  Keep in mind that sounds that are in the middle or at the end of words are harder to produce than sounds at the beginning of the words.   In some instances, the correction of these errors may be quite quick if the child is physically ready to make the correct sounds.

Below is a chart to use as guidance for sound development.  There are a variety of charts to determine the age of sound acquisition—this is a brief sample of one.

Age 3:  p, m, w, n, h

Age 4:  b, d, k, g, y (as in yes), f

Age 6:  t, l, r, ng

Age 7:  j (as in jump), ch, sh, th (unvoiced as in think)

Age 8:  v, th (voiced as in the) s, z

            (zh is mastered later than 8)

Sanders (1972) Norms for Speech Sound Mastery

By the time your child is 7, they should be able to produce all sounds without difficulty.  If you have any concerns about your child’s speech production or if your child is 3 years or older and difficult to understand, contact a speech therapist at Child and Family Development.  An assessment will determine if speech therapy is necessary to help your child develop sounds for clear speech.